New Delhi, Mar 28 (IANS): Global pharmaceutical company Aurobindo Pharma on Monday said it has acquired the domestic formulation business of Veritaz Healthcare on a slump sale basis.

According to the company, the transaction is agreed at a consideration of Rs 171 crore on a debt-free cash-free basis.

"The transaction comes into effect from April 1, 2022 and is expected to close by May 2022," Aurobindo Pharma said in a statement.

"This acquisition vehicle will greatly help Aurobindo as a launch pad for marketing biosimilar and other products in India."

"I am pleased to announce the Aurobindo's entry into the domestic market with this acquisition; with this acquisition we strongly believe that with Aurobindo's ability to build a product portfolio, and with the existing and expanding distribution network of Veritaz, we will be able to create a significant footprint in the domestic pharma market over the next few years," said K. Nithyananda Reddy, Managing Director, Aurobindo Pharma.

Veritaz is an over 10 plus years old company with an audited turnover of Rs 133 crore for the period of 9 months ended December 2021, and had a turnover of Rs 127 crore for full year FY21.

Its current product portfolio operates in an addressable market of Rs 26,775 crore.

The company has around 40 brands across the acute and critical care segments.

"The total number of trademarks registered in its name is around 180. Its largest brands are 'Fepanil' and 'Merogram' group, which clock a revenue of around Rs 31 crore and Rs 20 crore, up to December 2021 respectively."

Currently, the company caters to anti-infective and pain-management therapeutic areas and has a pipeline of products to enter into the 'Cardio/Diabetic' and 'Ortho/Gynaecology' segments.

"The company has an existing sales and distribution network with 900 field force, covering more 50K retailers with nearly 1,700 stockists, presence in 23 cities, reaching out to more than 70,000 doctors and empanelled with major hospitals."